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The silence at Apple Computer about the fate of former director andCFO Fred Anderson was deafening after the company's October 4 announcementthat it had uncovered 15 instances of possible stock-options backdating between1997 and 2002.

The lone release made two points. The first was that two former unnamedofficers were the subject of "serious concerns"regarding the "accounting, recording, andreporting of stock-option grants." It explainedthat during a three-month investigation, aspecial committee of Apple's outside directors,along with independent counsel and accountants,had examined hundreds of thousands ofE-mails and documents and interviewed morethan 40 current and former employees andothers. The second point was that Anderson,CFO from 1996 to 2004, had told the company"that he believes it is in Apple's best interestthat he resign from the board at this time."

In the absence of more information, theinvestment community has been assuming thatAnderson is one of thetwo officers involved inthe backdating scandal. "We don't know forsure, but that's certainlythe implication ofthe announcement,"says Argus Researchanalyst WendyAbramowitz.

Accusations are flying at Hewlett-Packard. The investigation into the pretextingscandal that has shaken the computer giant took an unexpected turn whenformer chair Patricia Dunn suggested that CFO Robert Wayman played a larger role inthe boardroom-spying case than previously revealed. Dunn and several other executiveswere forced to resign after allegations surfaced that top HP managers usedpotentially illegal methods to obtain phone records and other information from journalistsand directors to find out who was leaking sensitive information.

In testimony to the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on September28, Dunn implied that Wayman approved an investigation into boardroom leaks. "Itwas my assumption that Mr. Wayman, having ultimate authority over all theresources involved in security and investigations, as well as having been one of thedirectors who felt the most strongly about the importance of controlling leaks fromthe board, had provided authorization for whatever work was undertaken," she said.Dunn also told the committee that Wayman referred her to Kevin Hunsaker, the headof HP's global security, to pursue the matter. After her initial statement, Dunn did notmention Wayman during hours of questioning by the committee.

So far, Wayman and CEO Mark Hurd, who took over as chairman,have survived the scandal. "To the best of our knowledge, BobWayman had no direct involvement whatsoever in this leak investigation,beyond referring Pattie Dunn to HP's security team," says RyanDonovan, an HP spokesperson. "Any assumption about Bob Wayman'sinvolvement made by Ms. Dunn was nothing more than that,an assumption." Hurd has admitted to approving a plan to send aphony E-mail to a journalist, but claims he was unaware of the detailsof other tactics used in the botched investigation. Dunn and Hunsakerface criminal charges stemming from the case. — Joseph McCafferty